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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Mission Hills, CA - The state Supreme Court upheld on Monday a lower-court judge’s decision giving class-action status to a lawsuit alleging mass desecration of grave sites at a Jewish cemetery in Mission Hills, clearing the way for families to collectively seek hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

The lawsuit, filed in September 2009, alleges that cemetery services provider Service Corporation International and its employees purposely desecrated hundreds of Jewish graves and improperly disposed of human remains and bones in mass graves located in areas of Eden Memorial Park.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs have estimated damages at more than $500 million. Trial is scheduled Oct. 15.

In its decision, the state’s highest court denied SCI’s attempt to have Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr’s class-certification order overturned, meaning thousands of Jewish families could obtain redress against SCI for its alleged fraud and deceit, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys.